1. Field of the Invention
The present invention and Patent Office Disclosure 472958 relates to a device for purifying liquids, and particularly relates to such a liquid purifying device utilizing the process of distillation/evaporation of volatile contaminants contained within a liquid to separate and remove such volatile contaminants from the contaminated liquid, and more particularly relates to such a device that utilizes a distillation/evaporation chamber which is mounted in place of or complementing the standard factory liquid filtering system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There presently exist a number of distillation-type liquid separation and reclamation devices for distillation/evaporation and removal of volatile contaminants from contaminated liquid. Most of these units are utilize what is called the thin-film evaporation process, wherein the oil is passed over a heated flat horizontal surface (evaporation plate), the theory being that the heat will cause the oil to flow to such a xe2x80x9cthin filmxe2x80x9d on the flat horizontal surface that volatile contaminants having a boiling point lower than that of the temperature of the evaporation plate will be evaporated, followed by a collection of the xe2x80x9cpurifiedxe2x80x9d oil following contaminant evaporation. In addition, most of these thin-film evaporation-type distillation units incorporate a separate heating element (generally electric) for maintaining the evaporation plate at the desired temperature. Typical of these units are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,718,800, 2,472,717, and 4,006,084.
One of the problems with these prior art thin-film is that an electric heating element in the general vicinity of volatile contaminants and engine fuel creates a potentially explosive environment. Another problem with prior art thin-film is that they are complicated and expensive to manufacture and service.
Additionally, most of these units require external mounting equipment and a convenient location for the placement of these devices. Oil distillation/evaporation units of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,718,800, 2,472,717, 2,839,196, 3,198,104, 3,756,412, 4,006,084, 4,115,201, 4,189,351, 4,146,475, 4,289,583, 4,443,334, 4,349,438, 4,354,946, 4,369,110, 4,717,474, 4,830,745, 4,943,352, 5,242,034, 5,322,596; 5,630,912, 5,630,912, and applicants own U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,824,211 and 5,776,315. All these patents disclose liquid purifying device designs which are mounted remotely from the source of the liquid. None of the prior art utilizes an existing filtration system to effect a simple and effective liquid supply and mounting system for the liquid purifying device such as the system illustrated in this patent application.
There remains a need for an efficient evaporation apparatus that is small enough for use in a wide variety of applications while not being limited to the conventional means of liquid supply and liquid purifying device placement and mounting. However, at the time the present liquid purifying device was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art how those needs could be fulfilled, in view of the prior art as a whole.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for removing volatile contaminates from liquid that utilizes heat from the liquid to effect vaporization of the contaminants, rather than a separate heating element.
It is further object of the present invention to provide such a device that is small and compact, and conveniently fastens to existing liquid filter mounts.
The liquid purifying device (10) of the present invention is utilized for separating and removing volatile contaminants from liquids. In one embodiment, the device incorporates a self-contained particle filter (32) for filtering particles from the contaminated liquid. The liquid purifying device (10) itself comprises a distillation/evaporation chamber positioned essentially between the liquid source and the particle filter, and receives contaminated liquid that has been filtered by the filter media (20). The filtered contaminated liquid is passed through the liquid metering orifice (26), whereupon the oil enters the distillation/evaporation chamber (22). Upon entering the distillation/evaporation chamber (22) the metered liquid spreads in a thin film, thereby effecting the distillation/evaporation process.
Heat for distillation/evaporation of the volatile contaminants from the liquid acting directly within the distillation/evaporation chamber (22) is provided by the heated liquid itself, without the necessity of a separate heating element to maintain the vaporization temperature of the distillation/evaporation chamber.
This distillation/evaporation process is based on the well known principles of the thin-film evaporation process, wherein a liquid is spread into a thin film and heated, thus allowing trapped volatile elements such as water, gasoline, trapped gases, etcetera, within the liquid to be evaporated and vented outside the liquid purifying device.
This liquid purifying device is typically used in a full-flow filter capacity with an internal combustion engine, whereby a small amount of contaminated engine oil is tapped form the normal oil flow through the filter and processed through the liquid purifying device, whereupon the volatile contaminants are vaporized, separated, and removed from the oil. The processed lubricating oil is then returned to the engine oil pan through purified liquid exit (24). The liquid to be purified communicates to the filter through a plurality of liquid filter communicating conduits (12) such that certain conduits allow liquid to flow to the filter and certain other conduits allow liquid to return to the source with little or no impedance in overall liquid flow. This liquid purifying device effectively utilizes the existing liquid filter mounting system to facilitate its own mounting and provide a convenient source of liquid.
In other application, the particle filter may or may not be used. Rather, contaminated liquid-hydraulic liquid, machining oil, cooking oil, heating/cooling liquid, etc.xe2x80x94with or without pre-heatingxe2x80x94may be pumped directly into the distillation/evaporation chamber for evaporation, distillation, and removal of volatile contaminants therefrom, the processed liquid then being returned to the mechanism in which it is used.
A first feature of this liquid purifying device is the improved utilization of space by the use of the existing liquid filter mounting system. This utilization brings the benefits of a compact installation with a direct liquid source and convenient placement with minimum difficulty of installation and maintenance. Another benefit of this design is the efficient use of the heat inherent to most liquid sources to heat the evaporation chamber evenly and effectively without the need of any additional heat source, which eliminates the need for potentially dangerous heating elements while improving efficiency and reducing manufacturing costs.
Thus it is understood that a primary object of this liquid purifying device is to advance the art of liquid purifying by providing a device with is easily and conveniently mounted, simple to maintained, safer and more reliable operation, and is useful in a much greater range of applications.
These and other important objects, features and advantages of this liquid purifying device will become apparent as this description proceeds.
This liquid purifying device accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of this liquid purifying device will be indicated in the claims.